Q&A With the Producer of World Series Baseball 2K1

We sent a few questions to Sega of America in order to find out everything there was to know about World Series Baseball 2K1. And much to our surprise, Sega actually responded. Wondering about Barry Bonds? How about announcers or a franchise mode? All the answers (well, some of them) are contained within the following eloquent answeres:

Q) Will Bonds be included in the game (he's the cover boy for the ESPN Baseball 2Night from Konami)?

A) Yes, Barry Bonds will be included in the game. Barry is one of the best players in the game, to not use him because he appears on the cover of one of our competitor's products would be a serious mistake. The MLBPA license covers all union members in the major leagues, it does not include players that are not members of the union - but there are only a handful of those players.

Q) Who's doing the commentary?

A) We are in negotiations as we speak with a voice actor.

Q) Will all modes of play (not just home run derby) be four player simultaneous?

A) No. Regular gameplay will support only two players at a time. We felt that baseball does not lend itself to more than two players playing simultaneously. The idea of being the right fielder, and hoping that the ball gets hit to you just didn't seem that appealing.

Q) Will there be any internet features what so ever, like downloading stats and what-not?

A) At this point, we're not sure.

Q) Will the game run at 60 frames per second?

A) I can safely say that it's our goal to have the game running at 60 fps like the rest of the Sega Sports line.

Q) Are all the stadiums in the game?

A) Yes, and beautifully done I might add. The stadiums in the game are remarkably re-created. They, like the rest of the game, are state-of-the-art and the best on the market.

Q) Will there be classic teams?

A) No.

Q) Will there be an all-star game?

A) Yes. There will actually be a couple of different All-Star Games. There will be one that the user can select from the main menu, and one that will use stat generated rosters in Season Mode.

A) Will the team mascots be in the game?

A) We are going to include as many of the mascots as possible.

Q) Will there be a franchise mode?

A) There is no Franchise Mode in the game, but there is a complete Edit Mode which allows the user to create and trade players and make all of the changes that are made in the Majors.

Q) Will all baseball rules be in there, including infield fly and double switch?

A) Absolutely. The game will be totally faithful to the sport that it represents. We want the user of the game to feel as though they are a part of the game, and being a part of the game means capturing all of the nuances that make the sport great.

Thanks to Visual Concepts' Dave Perkinson, the game's US producer, for taking the time to answer our questions.